The Panthers let their top three receivers go this offseason and drafted Kelvin Benjamin out of Florida State in the first round to be their WR1 of the future. He’s a massive 6’5 athletic player with a wide catch radius and is one of the more intriguing rookie receivers in fantasy this season. Carolina will hope Benjamin catches on quickly and can help the team make it back to the playoffs and on top of the NFC South.

Fantasy Upside
Benjamin is a big target with very good hands who was productive his senior year in college, finishing with over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns last season for the Seminoles. He caught a big touchdown pass in the National Championship game to win the game in the final seconds, and he’s been praised all offseason by Carolina coaches. Benjamin is the rare rookie who will have the opportunity to immediately start as the team’s top option and his large frame makes him ideally suited to catch Cam Newton’s sometimes high thrown passes.

Fantasy Downside
Benjamin is a rookie. Rookie receivers rarely make a big impact in their first season, with few exceptions (i.e. Keenan Allen, Anquan Boldin). Also, he’s a big receiver who lacks an explosive first step, meaning he’ll have to learn to use his hands more in the NFL than he did at the college level in order to get off the line quickly enough to get into his routes. If Benjamin struggles to get into position consistently, there could be some growing pains along the way for the rookie.

Bottom Line
Kelvin Benjamin is a very intriguing prospect who is definitely worth gambling on as a WR3/WR4 on your fantasy roster. His ADP shows him being drafted in rounds nine to eleven, and if you can get him on the later end of that scale, he’s worth the risk. Opportunity is half the battle in the NFL, and with the next best receivers on the Panthers roster being Jerricho Cotchery and Jason Avant, Benjamin will get every opportunity to immediately become Cam Newton’s top target.